Players and musicians in Spanish festival to fight virus

MADRID (AP) — Soccer players and celebrities will take part in a global music festival on Saturday organized by the Spanish league in order to raise funds for the fight against the coronavirus.

Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué, Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos and Sevilla’s Jesús Navas will be among the players involved in the charity event organized to raise money “for the purchase of medical supplies in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and to also support fans confined to their homes during the current period of quarantine,” the league said.

The soccer players and celebrities will all participate from their homes. The concert is to be shown live through the league's international broadcasters and streamed via YouTube and Facebook.

"Together we'll succeed in convincing people about the importance of staying at home at this time, whilst raising money to buy medical supplies, which are in such high demand at times like these," league president Javier Tebas said.

Spain, where stay-at-home restrictions have been in place for nearly two weeks, reported 832 more deaths on Saturday, its highest daily count yet, bringing the total to 5,690. Another 8,000 confirmed infections pushed that count above 72,000.

The league said more than 11,400 euros ($12,600) had been raised ahead of Saturday's event.

The “music extravaganza” will be broadcast in more than 180 countries simultaneously, starting at 1700 GMT (1 p.m. EST).